Lacey Mitchell interview

Wednesday, October 18, 2023 – 8:50 p.m.

Lacey Mitchell is a Northwest Mississippi Community College student and a resident of the 24/7 livestream show "Under Glass: The Study of Generation Z in the Real."

Detective Beckwith and Magee spoke with her at the Under Glass house.

Participants:

• Detective P. Beckwith
• Detective J. Magee
• Lacey Mitchell

Lacey Mitchell: For the record, you should know that I'm very clear on what my rights are since I'm pre-law studying criminal justice.

Detective Magee: Good to know. Thank you. I'll be sure to watch my step and hope for the best in your Yelp review. Now, would you please state your name and address for the record?

Lacey Mitchell: Lacey Mitchell, 903 Muirfield Drive, Oxford. Do you know what we do here?

Detective Magee: For the record, Detective Beckwith and I will ask the questions. You can practice your witness interrogations in law school mock trials. Meantime, please answer your own question.

Lacey Mitchell: Uh, sure. This is where the 24/7 live-streamed social experiment happens. You know, "Under Glass?"

Detective Beckwith: Is that the only significance of this address?

Lacey Mitchell: Isn't that enough?

Detective Beckwith: Answer the question, please.

Lacey Mitchell: Look, I'm not sure what this is about. This house is super trending right now, and I live here.

Detective Beckwith: How long have you lived here?

Lacey Mitchell: About a year.

Detective Beckwith: What's your relationship with Hoyt Biffle?

Lacey Mitchell: Hoyt? He owns the house and is, I guess you could say, my boss.

Detective Magee: In what way is he your boss?

Lacey Mitchell: He employs me to live here. I'm compensated with room and board. I get extra money in the way of bonuses.

Detective Beckwith: Did he treat you fairly?

Lacey Mitchell: He did, he does, he always has.

Detective Magee: When was the last time you saw him?

Lacey Mitchell: Why?

Detective Beckwith: Please answer.

Lacey Mitchell: Wait. Wait. You asked, "Did he," and now you want to know the last time I saw him? Why? Has something happened to Hoyt?

Detective Magee: You don't know?

Lacey Mitchell: No, I don't know. Is he okay?

Detective Beckwith: Well, no, he's dead. Was he okay the last time you saw him?

Lacey Mitchell: Yes, he was fine. Oh, my God. Dead?

Detective Beckwith: Yes. You seem surprised.

Lacey Mitchell: We had a meeting day before yesterday. He was fine. Healthy. Good color … didn't look sick at all.

Detective Magee: What did you talk about?

Lacey Mitchell: About my bonus.

Detective Beckwith: Was it a friendly conversation?

Lacey Mitchell: Yes. Not stressful or anything. He was happy. The channel is doing great business. We talked about ways I could increase my visibility and how my underdog journey could inspire people and increase viewership, which would increase my bonus money. This is… this is not good.

Detective Magee: Where were you today between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.?

Lacey Mitchell: Around 1:30 p.m., I came home from school to grab some notes I'd copied from another student. I forgot to take them with me this morning. Then I went back to Northwest until 4:00 p.m., then came back home.

Detective Beckwith: What is Northwest?

Lacey Mitchell: Northwest Mississippi Community College. So, I take it Hoyt's death wasn't an accident?

Detective Magee: Not likely. Was anyone else here when you came home at 1:30 p.m.?

Lacey Mitchell: I didn't notice. I was in a huge hurry. I was here in the house, maybe two minutes?

Detective Magee: Who else was here when you got home at 4:00 p.m.?

Lacey Mitchell: Yeah, uh, Jessi came home a while after me, sometime before 5:00 p.m. Then Tanya came home… I guess, maybe a half hour later? Something like that.

Detective Beckwith: Did you notice anyone around when you got home? Anything or anyone unusual?

Lacey Mitchell: No.

Detective Beckwith: Have you ever gone into the shed in the backyard?

Lacey Mitchell: No, never. That's where all the equipment is, so it's strictly off-limits for that reason. Plus, we're not supposed to fraternize with any other employees who aren't living in the house.

Detective Magee: You've never gone in there?

Lacey Mitchell: Absolutely not. I signed a contract. I take that seriously. Not to mention that I have no curiosity about what type of equipment Hoyt uses or who he hires to operate it. I'm busy trying to keep my foothold on my life goals. It's a slippery slope, and I've slipped on it before.

Detective Beckwith: Are you having trouble keeping your footing?

Lacey Mitchell: No. Things are great now. Or they were before this. I'd never do anything to jeopardize my situation. My mom got hurt, and I had to work during high school, so my GPA suffered. I went from the top of my class to attending community college. This situation was helping me save a ton of money for university studies.

Detective Magee: Did Hoyt have any enemies that you know of?

Lacey Mitchell: Obviously, this Under Glass thing triggers a strong response, so yes. Some people hated Hoyt and his social experiment.

Detective Beckwith: Who, for instance?

Lacey Mitchell: Any one of the members of COP picketing outside, I'd suspect.

Detective Magee: Did you ever hear any direct threats? Any language that concerned you?

Lacey Mitchell: Not threats toward anyone's safety, like physical violence, but there were threats to close down the channel and evict us.

Detective Magee: Do you know specifically who made those threats?

Lacey Mitchell: Ben. For sure, Ben, who leads that group. Others, too, but he is so recognizable that he's the only one I remember.

Detective Beckwith: If you were investigating, who would you talk to?

Lacey Mitchell: Me? I'd want to talk to Shiloh and Wyatt.

Detective Beckwith: Who are they?

Lacey Mitchell: The annoying ex-resident lovers who Hoyt evicted for sneaking off camera to do the nasty. Even though they violated the terms of their respective contracts, they were pretty pissed about it. I'm not sure all of the angry posturing was for show.

Detective Beckwith: Did they do or say something specific?

Lacey Mitchell: When they were moving out, right before they left for the last time, Shiloh wrote a little message in lipliner pencil for Hoyt, and Wyatt gave his message straight into the camera. I warned them not to, but now I'm glad they did. It's irrefutable.

Detective Magee: Do you know specifically what they each said?

Lacey Mitchell: He said something to the effect of "Your ass is mine when you least expect it," which I'm sure you'll review the footage for that, and she wrote, "I'll be the one laughing when karma catches you."

Detective Magee: Thank you, Lacey. We'll follow up. If we need anything further, we'll be in touch.

Lacey Mitchell: I'll help however I can.

Interview ended – 9:12 p.m.